5 Divinely Fun Facts About the ‘Oh, God!’ Films

Gabrielle Moss November 9, 10:07 am

OH GOD! YOU DEVIL, George Burns, 1984, — Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

Forty years ago, on Nov. 9, 1984, Oh, God! You Devil hit theaters. The film rounded out the Oh, God! trilogy of films that included 1977’s Oh, God! and 1980’s Oh, God!: Book II — each starring octogenarian comedian George Burns as a sassy, cigar-chomping version of the Big Guy.

A triad of comedies about average people meeting God, built around an 80-something movie star, is not an obvious recipe for success. But the films cemented Burns’ star power in the final years of his life, gave Carl Reiner his first big hit as a director and spawned a whole new genre of films, where God is portrayed by an unexpected actor in a very human way (think Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty).

From the first film — which paired Burns’ God with John Denver as an everyman drafted to present a message of peace to the world — to the third, where Burns plays the dual roles of God and the devil, there’s a lot to learn about these divinely funny films.

1It Was the First Film George Burns Made After Becoming a Movie Star at 79

LOS ANGELES,CA - MARCH 29,1976: Actor George Burns poses backstage after winning " Best Supporting Actor" award during the 48th Academy Awards at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles,California.

Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

George Burns — who was born in 1896 — had a long comedy career, first on the vaudeville circuit with his wife and comedic partner, Gracie Allen; the pair later brought their act to radio and then TV, where they starred in The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show from 1950 to 1958.

Allen retired due to health problems and passed away in 1964; Burns, who had appeared in a few unsuccessful sitcoms during Allen’s illness, threw himself into work after her death, touring as a live act and producing TV shows. Trying hard to stay busy, he eagerly said yes to appearing in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, filling in for close friend Jack Benny, who had become too ill to make the film (Burns himself had a triple bypass shortly before filming). It was Burns’ first movie role in 36 years.

The 1975 film — where Burns starred opposite Walter Matthau as one half of an old vaudeville comedy duo who are on the outs — was a critical success and won Burns the 1975 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. When he accepted the award, he quipped, “If you stay in the business long enough and if you can get to be old enough, you get to be new again.” His next film was 1977’s Oh, God!

2The Movie’s Title Was Banned in Utah Newspapers

OH, GOD!, US poster art, George Burns, 1977.

Oh, God! ultimately champions some fairly traditional religious ideas: trust God, be kind to your fellow man, have an open heart. However, some religious groups were not pleased with its title.

When two major Utah newspapers rejected standard ads for the film, the studio created new ads for the papers that instead read: “Go see the picture that you’ve been hearing so much about on radio and TV” and “A divine comedy which you’ve read and heard about starring George Burns and John Denver.”

Utah wasn’t the only place that had a problem with the film: It was also banned for a time in South Africa.

3Burns Appeared in Character on the Cover of Penthouse … Twice

Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

Burns appeared on the September 1984 issue of Penthouse to promote Oh, God! You Devil, alongside the headline “Miss America: Oh God, She’s Nude!” Yes, that’s right — the Oh, God! movies play a minor role in the saga of Vanessa Williams losing her Miss America crown when nude photos of her were published in Penthouse. Burns was interviewed within the magazine (fully clothed, of course).

He was again on the cover of the January 1985 issue of Penthouse, under the headline “Oh, God, I Did It Again!” The issue, again, featured more photos of Williams.

4There Was Supposed to Be a Fourth Film

Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

In a 1989 profile in The Los Angeles Times, Burns revealed that the script for a fourth installment was in the works, written by Paul Zindel — a writer you may know better as an author of 1960s and ’70s young adult novels, like The Pigman. The premise, Burns said, was about God going on a vacation from heaven: “God misses the little things in life. Like a hot dog. He wants to go to that place … McDonald’s. … He wants to go to McDonald’s and have a hot dog.” The film was never made.

5Burns Made an Exercise Video for Senior Citizens

OK, this one has nothing to do with the Oh, God! movies. But it’s too good not to share. Despite the fact that he smoked 20 cigars and drank six martinis each day, and openly loathed fruits and vegetables, George Burns lived to be 100. Naturally, there was a lot of interest in the secret to his health and vitality, which Burns attributed to regular exercise.

To tap into this, Burns released The Wit and Wisdom of George Burns in 1989, a video filled with jokes, lifestyle tips about sleep and food, and yup, some exercise routines. Some of Burns’ moves will be familiar to anyone who’s taken a Pilates class, but a few are definitely his own creations. In exercise as in life, Burns was always an original.